Friday Finds

Guess you know I must be better if I am sharing some Friday Finds.  Big grin here.  I spotted a few things in the past 2 weeks to share.


  Undercover Maker Mat .....a cover for your machine that turns into a mat with wonderful pockets.  It is from lillyella blog and she provides a free PDF with all the details.   Who doesn't need a way to keep notions handy?    Maybe I will try this for my Featherweight....








  From Elizabeths Quilt Projects.  A seasonal mug rug, or make it bigger and do a table runner too.   I loved the colors she used as well as the acorns with the leaves.  Check your scrap bin.  October arrives tomorrow.

  I had played around with  the block to make this quilt...see my post here.  A reader sent me this information.   It is a published pattern from Villa Rosa Designs , called Dublin.  Great name for a cute design.  My thanks to the reader who sent the link and information.










For some free motion lessons, and ideas, check out this youtube channel for whirlsandswirlsquilting.     Nicki sent me this link for inspiration.  Most of the videos are 2-4 minutes and just packed with fun motifs to try.  Grab a sketchbook and watch a few.
Thanks, Nicki, I needed some sketching practice time.


  As always please visit the original site for pinning and details. I am just passing on some finds.  See you next week....happy stitching.  

September odds and ends

  I have missed participating in Let's Book It----hosted by Sharon at Vroomans Quilts blog.    Each month brought a new opportunity to pull out a book, or magazine, or printout, and pick a new project.   Some times my project carried over several months, and others were quick and small.  So this month I determined to get a small part of my quilting life back......yep, I started a project!!!

   Last week I showed this test block I tried for the Pineapple Blossom from Bonnie Hunter.  Then I began digging thru the closet to find some neutrals to chop up for the corners.  Then I pulled out the floral strips, and began to cut.

Yay!  Four blocks done and on the design wall.  They are not joined yet....but at least I have a start.  That makes me smile.

  I'm not sure how many I will do.....maybe just a small throw size.  And it will take me a few months, and that's just fine for now.  Thank you, Sharon for enabling me to claim a bit of my quilting life.








   Circles......I made a few more from the fabric from Cheree.
The fat quarters were from the State Birds collection, so of course they needed to be circles.  I have completely lost count as to my total, so I am just making a few when I want.   I think the count is close to 200, and that is OK.


   I gave away a quilt last week.  A friend's daughter is facing a long battle against a genetic form of breast cancer that is awful.  She is only 26......but smart enough to purloin her Mom's quilt.  I immediately lifted a quilt off the quilt rack and said take it to her.  Quilts need to cover those in need of comfort.
  And that will wrap up my month.   I will link to Let's Book It.
 Saturday and Sunday are the quilt show, we do our display set up Friday.
Be sure to vote for your favorite quilts at the Blogger's Quilt Festival at amyscreativeside.   
   Happy stitching.

September odds and ends

  I have missed participating in Let's Book It----hosted by Sharon at Vroomans Quilts blog.    Each month brought a new opportunity to pull out a book, or magazine, or printout, and pick a new project.   Some times my project carried over several months, and others were quick and small.  So this month I determined to get a small part of my quilting life back......yep, I started a project!!!

   Last week I showed this test block I tried for the Pineapple Blossom from Bonnie Hunter.  Then I began digging thru the closet to find some neutrals to chop up for the corners.  Then I pulled out the floral strips, and began to cut.

Yay!  Four blocks done and on the design wall.  They are not joined yet....but at least I have a start.  That makes me smile.

  I'm not sure how many I will do.....maybe just a small throw size.  And it will take me a few months, and that's just fine for now.  Thank you, Sharon for enabling me to claim a bit of my quilting life.








   Circles......I made a few more from the fabric from Cheree.
The fat quarters were from the State Birds collection, so of course they needed to be circles.  I have completely lost count as to my total, so I am just making a few when I want.   I think the count is close to 200, and that is OK.


   I gave away a quilt last week.  A friend's daughter is facing a long battle against a genetic form of breast cancer that is awful.  She is only 26......but smart enough to purloin her Mom's quilt.  I immediately lifted a quilt off the quilt rack and said take it to her.  Quilts need to cover those in need of comfort.
  And that will wrap up my month.   I will link to Let's Book It.
 Saturday and Sunday are the quilt show, we do our display set up Friday.
Be sure to vote for your favorite quilts at the Blogger's Quilt Festival at amyscreativeside.   
   Happy stitching.

Another thing.....

  We were quietly watching TV after dinner.  I had had a long, tough therapy session and was almost ready to doze off.  Something began beeping in the kitchen.  UGH!  The controller /touch pad went out on the wall ovens.   Sir Old Man attempted his normal mastery of fixing things.....to no avail.
   So the next morning he began calling for service, only to be told it would be 2 weeks before they could come to  look at it.  Then he checked on the cost of the part........$$$.  It was about 60% of the value of the ovens  for the repair.

  Now I was not a math whiz, but common sense says that would be throwing money away again.  Oh yeah, this is the second time the unit has gone out and the prices have greatly increased.  So research time, and call to nephew for his purchasing contacts......we picked out a new wall oven.  Limited selection because this unit in a 24'' set, and any other size would mean ripping out the cabinet and having it rebuilt.  Time, money, and effort influenced me to just replace the old one.  We are hoping for a new one this week.......getting tired of sandwiches and  microwave heated leftovers.



  The schedule for next week is crazy......I see the neurologist on Monday for a consult and possible testing, OT/PT is Tuesday and Thursday, and the quilt show set up for us will have to be Friday after a morning appointment.
   This morning Sir Old Man arranged all the quilts and wall hangings in order for the display of my watercolor projects.   The small pieces are already pinned to the black fabric for ease of hanging.   I will take photos at the show to share.....just hoping my part comes together as I see it in my mind.   If you are anywhere near Greenville, SC, please stop by the Aunt Het Festival and visit the quilt show.


One thing accomplished

.....pinning a table runner I had pieced before I got sick.  It's the one with the plumes on it.  Pinning it was a test of my OT skills!  Without the sense of touch and feedback in my fingers, it was a reminder of how much I took for granted.  Quilting it will be another test, I think.  But it is a table runner and a wonderful size to begin my practicing on.  It doesn't have to be perfect.
Happy stitching!

Quiet Time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival

Once again this year, it's the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  Amy works so hard to give us a venue to show our quits....so be sure to hop over, view the entries, or add your own.  Here's the link...to Amyscreativeside.

I am sharing a second entry.  If you are a regular reader, you know it has to be a watercolor quilt  :).

  This is called Quiet Time.  Little did I know when I completed it in March that it would give me so much comfort for healing during the summer months.  It reminds me to seek the quiet, to reflect, and take time to heal.
My original post shows this wall hanging  in different lighting conditions.

Entered in the Art Quilt category, the size is 23'' by 30''.

Blogger's Quilt Festival

  It comes around twice a year....the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy at  Amy's Creative Side.   She works hard to give us a showcase for our quilts.....that's my motivation for entering this year.  Please take a few minutes to view and enjoy the entries.  Voting is next week I think.

This is Season's  Glow, my orange peel quilt.  Begin late last fall, it is the last quilt finished in my Year of Floral quilts.  My intention was to explore traditional patterns and translate those patterns into color wash designs  with floral fabrics.

  I have a very large stash of floral fabrics, so no duplicates in fabrics for the orange peels.      The orange peels are machine appliqued.  I shared the technique using fusible interfacing that I used to turn under the edges here.

Quilted by me..free hand all the way.  I did a simple outline on the peels, and small swirls in the border.
The border fabric is a soft mottled grey print that gave this quilt an old fashion look.

  Season's Glow is 55'' by 65'', and entered in the Applique Quilt category.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the festival.......happy stitching.

Gift fabric and a block

  I have been so up and down this summer.......and right now I am up, up up!  I saw the doctor yesterday and the 5 days of  shots of B-12 have helped for sure.  And my D3 has improved a lot.  This morning I felt so much better and even went to the Fresh Market with Sir Old Man.  Thank you all for the prayers and thoughts and extra encouragement.  We hope I have turned the corner.

Schedule  A little encouragement goes a long way for me.  A packet of fabric arrived in the mail from  Cheree of the Morning Latte.   She was passing along a won bundle that she thought suited me a lot.  Lol....State Birds fabrics with lots of floral backgrounds....yep, more my style than hers.  I will turn a few of these into circles and use part for the border on the small circle wall hanging.  Thank you, Cheree for giving me a push and some motivation to return to the sewing room.   Bloggers and quilting friends are the best!

I did say sewing room......after reading Bonnie Hunter's post on her Pineapple Blossom workshop, I decided to make a test block.   I cut some lengths according to her directions----found here---from 2'' scraps and found enough 3 1/2'' squares.  Tada.....I can still follow directions.

  I also did the bonus triangles and set them aside to accumulate into something.  

I have boxes of floral strips that will probably work for this.  I just need to cut some corner squares.   I had a very nice, enjoyable afternoon.  And I was stitching.  Thanks everyone for the encouragement.

Happy stitching.

The results

    The saga continues........I got the results of my B-12 level on Monday.  The level had dropped almost 60% in 6 weeks.  My doctor recognized the fact that my body is not digesting nor absorbing the vitamins I have been taking.  So he ordered up daily injections of B-12 for the first week and then weekly injections for a month  to see how I do.  A wonderful neighbor has been giving me the shots.....and teaching Sir Old Man to take over.   He gave me the shot last night and did an excellent job!
    I am overly tired and fighting  the depressed feelings that come with this stuff.  I struggle each day to accomplish one productive thing, like plan dinner or fold laundry.  My vision is worse, so I have not tried to sew.   There is no change so far with the neuropathy.  I continue OT/PT----it is time for the OT evaluation for Medicare.   Here's hoping things are brighter and better next week.....till then keep stitching for me.

Lagging behind

This has not been a great week.  More one of those weeks you take steps backward and feel like you are lagging behind.

First a slight change in my symptoms........the neuropathy in my legs is moving up.  It is approaching my waist now, and the therapists were quite concerned.  So after several conversations, I am scheduled to see a neurologist at the end of the month.  PT continues to work on balancing exercises.....I am improving, and it is exhausting.

Another slight change in the neuropathy, affects my right hand.  I noticed numbness along and above the wrist.....that hasn't been there.  So i was glad I had been scheduled for lab work to check my levels of B-12 and D.  And guess what nice surprise I got.....denied by that Medicare agency.  I was told I could not have levels rechecked for 3 months, for coverage of costs.  It does not matter that the doctor ordered the tests, etc.  So I said....do the tests, bill me, and I will fight this out with the numskulls in Washington or wherever.   I see the doctor on Monday for the results.

And the right arm/shoulder got some attention.  My OT therapist spent the last session poking, pulling, massaging, lifting, moving the arm.  Then pressing on the shoulder and etc.  It is two days later, and it feels so much better.  I should be able to do some exercises today :)  Gentle ones.

But the good news and accomplishments.......

• Sir Old Man helped me make a Banana Pudding from scratch for my brother.
• I went to the grocery store and walked....got that....I walked about 2/3's of the store before having to sit while Sir Old Man finished the shopping.
• We pulled and sorted the quilts, and wall hangings that we will use for the quilt show display.  The small wall hangings are pinned to background fabric to make hanging them easier.
• While at therapy this week, I realized it was 2 months ago when I went to rehab.  I could not sit up, stand, or walk at that time.  To borrow an old phrase....you've come a long way, baby!
• And I sewed.....smile.

Circles, I sewed the circles together.  I feel like this is an accomplishment to smile about.  I am not sure of how to border them, so they are resting on the design wall for now.  

 

   A close up of some of the fabrics I used.  

When I was moving a  stack of papers and books, I saw these two books.   I barely remember picking them up at the library book sale the week before I got sick!  So I did have some fun browsing them.  I am sure I will find some inspiration between the covers.

Cooler weather arrives for a few days, so I can read  my "new" books as I sit on the porch.  Happy stitching.

Circles for Quilty 365

I haven't joined in for a few months.  But circles have been front and center on the design wall.  I reached 175 before my health issues and pneumonia dropped me.    This is a partial group of selected circles......theme of birds, blooms and winged things.    Several blogging friends sent me fabrics and blocks and I wanted to feature them in this small version.   The larger circles just evolved for some variety/interest.

    I had a couple of questions about this larger circle.  It was a play time experiment back at the first of the year.  Technique used is fused collage of florals.  The fussy cut parts were fused down and then stitched in place.  I had intended to try a couple more, but that might not happen for a while, so better to use it here.  

   My stitching may not be perfect....but better done than not.  I only have three rows assembled so far.....with hopes of the next section this weekend.  I have practiced stitching and having control of the fabric this week, by stitching strings, wonky blocks and a few 4 patches.  So I hope to be up to the task.  

And this photo gives a close up of some of these very special circles.

Linking to Audrey at Quilty Folk.

  As my health improves, and hands get better, I do plan on adding to my circles.  My original goal was 300, and I think I could make it eventually.  I need something to work towards and this will be it  for now.  

Happy stitching.